Panel structures for suspending display stands



April 25, 1967 E. BONDESSON ETAL 3,315,818

PANEL STRUCTURES FOR SUSPENDING DISPLAY STANDS Filed Marh 19, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I QM 6 m m FIG.I

Ap 1967 E. BONDESSON ETAL PANEL STRUCTURES FOR SUSPENDING DISPLAY STANDS Filed March 19, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.2

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April 25, 1967 E. BONDES-SON ETAL 3,315,818

PANEL STRUCTURES FOR SUSPENDING DISPLAY STANDS Filed March 19, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 4 lllwh I April 25, 1967 E. BONDESSON ETAL 3,315,818

PANEL STRUCTURES FOR SUSPENDING DISPLAY STANDS Filed March 19, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG] United States Patent 3,315,818 PANEL STRUCTURES FOR SUSPENDING DISPLAY STANDS Erik Bondesson, Muraregatan 3D, and Erik Tehler, Jarnvagsgatan 9, both of Halmstad, Sweden Filed Mar. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 441,257 12 Claims. (Cl. 211-148) This invention is concerned with improvements in panel structures forming inner wall linings or partitions for suspending display devices, particularly for shoes but also for other small articles which it is generally desired to display inside shops.

An object of the invention is to provide a panel structure which will permit the display of shoes and other articles in a more practical and at the same time more tasteful way than before.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a structure which will enable display devices to be mounted thereon at desired positions and to be demounted by a simple manual operation.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a structure of the kind indicated designed to carry a number of display devices for shoes and similar articles in any desired distribution across the face area of said structure.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a panel structure for suspending a desired number of display stands for shoes and other articles in such a way that the stands may be easily shifted to various positions on the face of said structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a panel structure in which the individual panel elements may be removed and replaced independently of the others to facilitate making changes in the panel structure when desired, for example by replacing one panel element by one of a different appearance (such as having a veneer layer of a different species of wood).

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a panel structure which is entirely free from visible fastening means.

The principal characteristics of the panel structure according to the invention are that elements, each consisting of a preferably veneer-covered board and a batten fastened on the back of said board along the upper longitudinal edge of the latter and having a longitudinal groove cut in its upper edge surface, are suspended above each other on stationary vertical rails, disposed adjacent each other with a predetermined spacing, by means of hooks which are mounted on the back of said batten and inserted in apertures in the rails, the groove in the bat-ten being accessible from the front of the panel structure for suspending display stands or the like by means of angle holders on the latter inserted in said groove.

The invention will be described more closely in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings, which by way of example illustrate the panel structure according to the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a front elevation of the panel structure used as an inner wall lining,

FIG. 2 is a fragmental view of FIG. 1 at an enlarged scale,

-FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section at right angles to FIG. 1 along the line III-III in the latter figure,

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section at right angles to FIG. 1 along the line IVIV in the latter figure,

FIG. 5 is a fragmental view of a panel element as seen from the back,

FIG. 6 is a fragmental elevation of a post forming an integral part of the panel structure for use as a partition,

FIG. 7 is a transverse section of said post along the line VIIVH in FIG. 6, and

Patented Apr. 25, 1967 FIG. 8 is a view of a clamping element associated with said post.

Referring to the drawings, the panel structure shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is designed to be installed close to a room wall 1, practically forming a lining or boarding thereon. It comprises two or more vertical rails -2 as supporting and consolidating elements, said rails being arranged beside each other with a predetermined mutual spacing and fixed direct to the wall 1 by means of screws not shown. The rails 2 may be a well-known type of U-rails which have two longitudinally parallel rows of equally spaced slots in their base portion, pairs of such slots being situated at the same level, and are fixed with the end surfaces of their leg portions engaging the wall. Preferably, however, the rails are of a new type, which is illustrated in FIG. -1 and more clearly in FIG. 2. In this type each rail 2 also has a U-shaped transverse section and is fixed to the wall with the edge surfaces of its legs engaging the wall and thus with the U base portion turned towards the room. This base or web portion has a single longitudinal row of identical, equally spaced, symmetric cut-outs 3, each of which has a rectangular form with two laterally spaced teeth projecting from the bottom edge thereof to form two notches 4 at the sides of the cut out and a central notch 5. The purpose of said notches will appear from the following description.

Panel elements bridging the distance between two adjacent rail-s 2 are mounted thereon above each other. Each panel element consists of a preferably veneered board 6 and a grooved batten 7 of wood or other suitable material which is glued or fixed in any other suitable way to the back of the board 6 along the upper longitudinal edge thereof. Screwed on to the back of the grooved batten 7 adjacent each end thereof is a fixture 8 which has a hook 9 formed there-on. The distance between the hooks 9 is chosen equal to the distance between the notches 4 which are situated nearest each other in two adjacent rails 2. The panel elements are detachably suspended on the rails 2 by the insertion of the hooks 9 in these notches 4. The length of the panel boards 6 is made slightly less than the distance between the longitudinal symmetry axes of the rails. Where an inner wall lining includes more than two vertical rails 2, the panel boards of the panel section between two of the rails and those of the adjoining panel section or sections will leave a narrow slot 10 along the symmetry axis of each rail between the opposed ends of the boards, as is seen in FIG. 1.

The front side of the grooved batten 7 with which it is glued on to the back of the board 6 is made slightly sloping downwards and backwards, so that the board will have the same slope, and the batten 7 'has a groove 11 cut near the back of the batten in the upper edge surface thereof, the longitudinal bottom edge of the board 6 of the next panel element above being put down into said groove 11. The panel elements of each panel section will thereby become suspended in a stepped fashion above each other, with the upper edge surfaces of the grooved battens 7 forming the steps.

At the bottom the panel structure is terminated by a skirting-board 12 which is not provided with hooks for suspension on the rails 2 but is intended to rest direct on the floor. In its top edge surface the skirting-board 12 has a groove 13 into which the lower longitudinal edge of the panel board 6 of the lowermost panel section is inserted. The groove 13 has a considerable depth to permit certain minor variations in the level of the panel elements in relation to the skirting-board, for example due to the rails 2 terminating at their bottom ends close to the top edge of a fixed skirting-board (not shown) belonging to the wall 1 and of a height that may vary.

from place to place, so that the level of the slots 4 will also be correspondingly varying, while on the other hand the skirting-board 12 has its level determined by the floor.

On the panel elements display devices 14, 15 of different kinds or shelves 16, or other appliances, may be mounted at any desired place and in any desired number. For this purpose, the display stands or the like are provided with an angle holder 17. display stand being made from a wire (see FIG. 1) bent into a desired shape the holder may consist of a U-shaped downwardly bent portion of said wire, and in other cases, e.g. in the case of the shelf 16, it may consist of a similarly shaped separate wire piece which is fixed to the shelf or the like at the back thereof. In the step-forming edge surface of the grooved batten 7 there is cut a second slighly deeper groove 18 in front of the groove 11 for the insertion therein of the angle holders 17, so that the display stands etc. will be suspended as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4.

The narrow slot 10 between the ends of the panel boards 6 of each two adjoining panel sections is provided for the purpose of receiving bracket arms 19 or 20, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4. These bracket arms, which consist of stamped flat metal pieces, are supported by the rails 2 at their inner ends by means of two hooks 21 formed integrally with the arms at said ends and vertically spaced a distance equal to the pitch of the cut-outs 3 so as to engage in the central notches of two consecutive cut-outs. From the rails 2 the bracket arms extend in cantilever fashion through the slot 10. They may be of various types in respect of shape and length. In FIG. 4 the longer bracket arm 19 is provided with semicircular notches 26 to receive horizontal shelf rods (not shown), while the shorter bracket arm 20 is intended to support a shelf board (not shown).

Instead of using the panel structure of the invention as an inner wall lining it may also be developed into a partition adapted to support display stands on both sides. FIGS. 6 to 8 illustrate the adaptation of the rails 2 to form posts in the partition. As clearly shown in FIG. 7 two rails 2 are assembled with their legs engaging each other, so that the rails form a square tubular post. The rails are kept together by means of twin clamps 22, each of U-shape with the outer margins 23 of its legs turned out at right angles. The clamps are placed inside the tubular post with their bases engaging each other and their legs passing through two opposite cut-outs 3 in the rails and having the turned out margins 23 engaging over the lateral edges of these cut-outs 3 on the outside'of the rails. In this position the clamps are firmly joined together, for example by a bolt and nut connection 24 which is accessible through the cut-outs. With a suitable choice of the length of the clamp legs the rails 2 are then also clamped together. It should be noted that the clamps 22 may be introduced and placed in position through the cut-outs 3 after assembling the rails 2. Since it is desirable that the clamps shall fit closely between the top of the cut-out and the bottom of the notches 4 they are provided with a shallow notch 25 at the bottom edge of each leg adjacent the base part for engagement in the lateral notches 4, thereby enabling them to be passed through the cut-out by a tilting movement to clear the two teeth which separate the notches 4 from the notch 5. The panel elements which are suspended on both sides of the posts described may be of exactly the same construction as in FIGS. 1 to 5, including a panel board 6 and a batten 7 with grooves 11 and 18 as shown in FIG. 7.

The invention should not be considered limited to the forms thereof described above and illustrated in the drawings, since the details thereof may be modified in various ways without exceeding the scope of the invention.

What we claim is:

1. A panel structure for supporting display devices, comprising stationary vertical rail means disposed adjacent each other with a predetermined spacing, panel In the case of the whole board members extending in a horizontal direction, a batten member fastened to the back of each of said panel board members at the upper longitudinal edge thereof, hook means on the back of said batten members mounting said panel board members on said rail means above each other, and means in said batten members for receiving said display devices at optional places along the boundary between any two of said panel board members.

2. A panel structure for supporting display devices, comprising stationary vertical rail means disposed adjacent each other with a predetermined spacing, panel board members extending in a horizontal direction, a batten member fastened to the back of each of said panel board members at the upper longitudinal edge thereof, hook means on the back of said batten members mounting said panel board members on said rail means above each other, and a longitudinal groove in the top surface of said batten members for receiving said display devices at optional places along the boundary between any two of saidpanel board members.

3. A panel structure for supporting display devices, comprising stationary vertical rail means disposed adjacent each other with a predetermined spacing, panel board members extending in a horizontal direction, a batten member fastened to the back of each of said panel board members at the upper longitudinal edge thereof, hook means on the back of said batten members mounting said panel board members on said rail means above each other, said panel board members having a stepped relation to each other and the top surfaces of said batten members forming steps, and a longitudinal groove in the top surfaces of said batten members for receiving said display devices at optional places along the boundary between any two of said panel board members.

4. A panel structure for supporting display devices, comprising stationary vertical rail means disposed adjacent each other with a predetermined spacing, panel board members extending in a horizontal direction, a batten member having a downwards and backwards sloping front and fastened with this front to the back of each of said panel board members at the upper longitudinal edge thereof, hook means on the back of said batten members for mounting said panel board members on said rail means above each other and in a downwards and backwards sloping position, the top surfaces of said batten members forming steps, and a longitudinal groove in the top surfaces of said batten members for receiving said display devices at optional places along the boundary between any two of said panel board members.

5. A panel structure as claimed in claim 4, in which the batten members have a second longitudinal groove in their top surface behind said first mentioned groove receiving the lower longitudinal edge of a panel board member above it.

6. A panel structure as claimed in claim 4, in which the batten members have a second longitudinal groove in their top surface behind said first mentioned groove receiving the lower longitudinal edge of a panel board member above it, and in which a skirting-board member which is applied along the foot of said structure, has a longitudinal groove in its top edge surface receiving the lower longitudinal edge of the lowest panel board member.

7. A panel structure for supporting display devices, comprising stationary vertical rails of U-shaped transverse section disposed adjacent each other with a predetermined spacing, equally spaced cut-outs in the web portion of said rails, panel board members, extending in a horizontal direction, a batten member fastened to the back of each of said panel .board members at the upper longitudinal edge thereof, hook means on the back of said batten members near the ends thereof for engagement in said cut-outs mounting said panel board members on said rail means above each other to form panel sections between each two adjacent rail means, and means in said batten members for receiving said display devices at op tional places along the boundary between any two of said panel board members.

8. A panel structure for supporting display devices, comprising stationary vertical rails of U-shaped transverse section disposed adjacent each other with a predetermined spacing, a longitudinal row of equally spaced cut-outs in the web portion of said rails, each cut-out including two bottom notches, panel board members extending in a horizontal direction, a batten member fastened to the back of each of said panel board members at the upper longitudinal edge thereof, hook means on the back of said batten members near the ends thereof for engagement in said notches mounting said panel board members on said rail means above each other to form panel sections between each two adjacent rail means, and means in said batten members for receiving said display devices at optional places along the boundary between any two of said panel board members.

9. A panel structure for supporting display devices, comprising stationary vertical rails of U-shtaped transverse section disposed adjacent each other with a predetermined spacing, a longitudinal row of equally spaced cut-outs in the web portion of said rails, each cut-out including two lateral bottom notches and one central bottom notch between said first mentioned notches, panel board members extending in a horizontal direction, a batten member fastened to the back of each of said panel board members at the upper longitudinal edge thereof, hook means on the b ack of said batten members near the ends thereof for engagement in said lateral bottom notches in each two adjacent rail means mounting said panel board members on said rail means above each other as a panel section between said adjacent rail means as well as end to end in each two adjacent panel sections, a slot being formed between the ends of the panel boards of said adjacent panel sections exposing said central bottom notches for optionally mounting bracket means therein.

10. A panel structure for supporting display devices, comprising pairs of stationary vertical rails of U-shaped transverse section, the rails in each pair being assembled together with their flanges confronting each other to form a hollow square post, the posts being disposed adjacent each other with a predetermined spacing, a longitudinal row of equally spaced cut-outs in the web portion of said rails, each cut-out including three bottom notches, panel board members extending in a horizontal direction on each side of said posts, a batten member fastened to the back of each of said panel board members at the upper longitudinal edge thereof, hook means on the back of said batten members near the ends thereof for engagement in said bottom notches in the rails of each two adjacent posts on both sides of said posts mounting said panel board members on said posts above each other as panel sections between said adjacent posts as well as end to end in each two adjacent panel sections, a slot being formed between the ends of the panel boards of said adjacent panel sections exposing said central bottom notches for optionally mounting bracket means therein.

11. A panel structure as claimed in claim 10, in which the assembled rails in each pair are clamped together by twin U-shaped clamps disposed within said post and having their opposed web portions fixed together and their flanges passing through opposite cut-outs in the rails and engaging over the lateral edges thereof.

12. A panel structure for supporting display devices, comprising stationary vertical rail means disposed adjacent each other with a predetermined spacing, panel board members extending in a horizontal direction, said members including spacing means protruding rearwardly at the top edge thereof, hook means on said spacing means mounting said panel board members on said rail means above each other, and means on said panel board members at the top edge thereof for receiving said display devices at optional places along the boundary between any two of said panel board members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,558,977 10/1925 Gray 21186 X 2,166,096 7/1939 Kotrbaty 52-483 2,257,598 9/1941 Frease 52-488 2,766,958 10/1956 Levy 248-243 2,863,567 12/1958 Friar 21190 2,971,805 2/1961 Weiss 312-108 3,101,817 8/1963 Radek 52488 X 3,172,540 3/1965 Berge 21190 X FOREIGN PATENTS 234,599 7/1961 Australia.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A PANEL STRUCTURE FOR SUPPORTING DISPLAY DEVICES, COMPRISING STATIONARY VERTICAL RAIL MEANS DISPOSED ADJACENT EACH OTHER WITH A PREDETERMINED SPACING, PANEL BOARD MEMBERS EXTENDING IN A HORIZONTAL DIRECTION, A BATTEN MEMBER FASTENED TO THE BACK OF EACH OF SAID PANEL BOARD MEMBERS AT THE UPPER LONGITUDINAL EDGE THREOF, HOOK MEANS ON THE BACK OF SAID BATTEN MEMBERS MOUNTING SAID PANEL BOARD MEMBERS ON SAID RAIL MEANS ABOVE EACH OTHER, AND MEANS IN SAID BATTEN MEMBERS FOR RE- 